Time to PARTY!

Warning: LOTS OF DETAILS AND PICTURES AHEAD! 

Before I dive into Banner's 2nd birthday party details, I want to recount for my own memory what we did this entire weekend because it all seemed so fun and special. Friday was very busy and completely unrelated to birthday festivities. We had our second day of a garage sale, which we held at my mom's house. We had spent the night at her house for two nights in a row to be more efficient with our early morning time. I absolutely hated the garage sale, but I loved being at my mom's house with Banner and Sam. When we left on Friday night after packing up the garage, donating unsold items, and enjoying a yummy, fun dinner with everyone there, I felt like we were driving home from a weekend away. It was nice to be back in my own home, but we had all had such a fun time at Mom's, and Banner always enjoys his time there with all the fun people in and out of her house.

Saturday was a busy day, as well. We were in full "party-planning" mode with a long list of to-dos to cross off. Sam and Banner ran several quick errands while I baked cupcakes and stuffed party favor bags for Banner's birthday party. My goal in preparing for his birthday parties is to never take away my time from him just to have a cute party. But, he loves running errands with his daddy, so this worked out well. As soon as they got home from the grocery store, the bank, our storage room, and Sam's office, we headed to the park while the cupcakes cooled. This was SO FUN! I absolutely love the park Randi just told me about (which we had also seen on the news last week). It is a safe, enclosed!!, accessible-to-all, fun place to explore. I wanted Sam to see it since I have a feeling Banner and I will be going there often! When we left, we were debating on whether or not to go home for lunch or pick something up on the way. Sam jokingly suggested we go to Gattitown, but once I thought about it, I loved the idea! Banner had his first pizza buffet, and it was awesome! We ate lunch in the theater room, which kind of reminded me of eating at a pizza place called Crystal's that my grandma used to take me to when I was little.

 

After lunch, we headed home for nap time, and that's when my mom came over to help me prepare more for the party. Banner took a great nap. Grandma was the one who giddily woke Banner up from it, and he was delighted to see her. Later, Sam grilled chicken for dinner while Banner played in the flower bed - his favorite outdoor activity! When we were eating, my dad dropped by to give Banner his birthday gift, which Banner loved and kept saying, "More Big Boss." After dinner, Banner continued to be in Grandparent-Heaven by joining Sam at his dad's house for a quick birthday errand.

Then, Banner and I showered before getting ready for bed. Both Sam and I had some special moments with Banner. (Sam will blog about this in a guest post soon.) I shed a few tears as I put my one-year-old to bed for the last time. I just couldn't get enough of him - that moment of knowing it was my last evening to hold my 23-month-old.

The last photo of my one-year-old

The following day was the big day! Sunday morning, I woke up early to get things ready for party time! It was raining, and I was supposed to be hosting this party outside - at a splash park. I was SO bummed throughout the week that the forecast was calling for rain on Sunday, but I was hopeful that the rain would be gone, that maybe it wouldn't have started yet, or that the meteorologists were wrong! Lo and behold, it poured Sunday morning - the last call for rain for a while and the day after one of the most beautiful, breezy, sunny days I actually enjoyed being outside while 25 weeks pregnant. But, another one of my goals for Banner's birthday parties is to never sweat the small stuff. Just like last year's party being WAY too windy for any of my decorations and food to stay put, this year's rain was not about to take away from celebrating my healthy, happy boy. I have so much to be grateful for, and I know not everyone is as fortunate as we are - so I am never going to throw a party and be upset about something as minor as the weather. However, I was a bit annoyed that our plans took a turn from being outside at a rather entertaining venue to being at our small-ish, needing-to-be cleaned home! It's amazing how fast you can clean a house when you know 50+ people are on their way!

I finished last minute decorations on the cupcakes, and Sam and I began cleaning the house while we watched Banner stir in his crib for about 45 minutes. Finally, he called out for us, and at this point, we both excitedly walked in to his room with a bag full of balloons that we threw in Banner's bed. Banner was less than thrilled at first. In fact, he was crying before we even opened the bag. But, soon he realized what was going on and started happily playing with the balloons. We sang "Happy Birthday," and then he "helped" clean up here and there before the big event.

Wakey Wakey!

Tossing balloons up

"Cheese!"

The theme of Banner's party was "School Bus," even though in the past few weeks he has requested a "Digger" or "Dump Truck" party. I chose this theme because it was one of the first vehicles that Banner recognized and was obsessed with this year. Any time he wanted to watch a YouTube video on my phone, he would say, "Boo Bus" ("School Bus"), and any time we would see one on the road, he would get super-excited! I feel like this was THE vehicle of the year - even though more recently he's been into construction trucks. Still, though, he gets giddy and excited when we see a school bus on the road - or better yet a whole fleet of them!

There were so many cool ideas for this theme that we had fun with. My favorites were the party favor bags and the food labels. I found some great ideas on Pinterest, came up with some on my own, and merged the two on some things. The teacher in me was loving the creativity part of party planning!

Coloring page that went in party favor bags

I got these bus candy wrappers on this site for free!

Party favor bag included coloring page, crayons, a mini Play-Doh, two bus chocolates, and left-over soap favors from Banner's first birthday party! :)

Crayon favors

Cupcake toppers ready to go!

Bus Barn - party favor bags ready to go

Papa & Banner

Banner skipping with Grandma

Best friends

Casey & Caden

Alan, Marin, Landry, Randi, and Ella

Bus Driver NaNa

Emma & Marin

Ryan

Family Pic Time

Aunt Jacque & Nami

Colby & Miles

Aunt Kindle, Aunt Keiko, Ian, and Aunt Kiki

David, Myka, and Lindsay

Bus Driver Evan

Love!

Mom with Sandler & Taryn

Uncle Brock with Banner

Nami, Regan, and Taryn

Aunt Mischelle with Banner & Brycen

The party went really well, considering it was a last-minute change of venue and there were lots of toys, toddlers, and grown-ups all over the place! It was nice to have a house full of so many friends and family, though! Banner seemed to not be feeling 100%, not sure why. I was somewhat sad that he wasn't his smiley, giggly, happy-go-lucky self, but he did skip around from time-to-time, and he was still definitely friendly and sociable. He did amazingly well letting everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to him as well as blowing out his candles. I was one proud mama! 

Aunt Gayle & Banner

Uncle Brock & Banner

Landry went shopping!

Marin

Simon

Brycen and his daddy

Catching the ball

Colby and "Grandma"

Myka & Banner

Sweet Birthday Kisses

Marin and her Aunt Fran

Cherie, Jed, Daddy, and Banner

Once his friends had left and only a few family members remained, Banner requested an early nap. He slept over 3 hours, and we finally woke him up at 4:00 to open his gifts. He loved his presents and kept insisting that we "Open! Open!" everything right away. He was not very patient with Mommy & Daddy who kept insisting that we wait to open boxes until all gifts were unwrapped.

The rain ended before the party even started, and while we still made the right decision to move the party to our house (since the splash ground area would have been muddy and icky), it's ironic that the rest of the day was absolutely gorgeous. In fact, after we opened gifts, Banner requested to go to the park. His wish was our command, so we ventured to the neighborhood park. But, again, Banner wasn't feeling 100%, and he requested to go home soon after we arrived. We came home, made the dinner Banner requested (hot dogs and macaroni and cheese), and then sang one final "Happy Birthday" and let Banner blow out one more candle on his dessert - a donut hole. Then, it was off to bed after a little bit of playtime with his new electronic bulldozer from Jed & Cherie.

Blowing out his candle

And there you have it! Our fun, eventful, busy, crazy weekend of birthday festivities! What fun we have had celebrating this 2nd birthday and our awesome boy!

My Favorite Second Year Memories

• The day you went up to Ms. Betty at Mommy & Me to ask to go outside. It was the first time I knew for sure that you knew she was your teacher and that you were comfortable with her. It actually warmed my heart that you didn't come to me because I knew you'd be okay at school. 
• The first time I heard you humming "Twinkle, Twinkle" - just playing on the kitchen floor, sprawled out on your tummy.
• Introducing you to Play-Doh - and you didn't try to eat it!
• Watching you hug my pregnant belly, give "Baby" kisses, and talking to your little brother
• Going to the cemetery to tell Bubbie that you were having a baby brother
• Your first trip to the zoo - leaning forward to see the penguins swimming, feeding a giraffe, walking around saying "ZZZOOOO!", playing in the water, and tap dancing near the gorillas when Mommy and Daddy finally let you out of the stroller
• Watching you walk down the aisle at Uggy and Kiki's wedding
• Hearing and watching your laugh as Uncle Brock "shook you" at the Race for the Cure walk
• Listening to you and Brycen babble in the backseat of the car
• Your second trip to the Arboretum to see the pumpkins
• Your last bottle
• Your first time in the snow
• The first time you said "Luvyou" right before we left for our cruise.
• Donating your first batch of gifts to your first Angel
• Your first kettle corn and listening to the beautiful music in the church at your first Candlelight
• Your Valentine's Day Bash - and Brycen and you were wearing the same Dr. Love shirts, too cute!
• When Daddy and I got home from our cruise, and you ran to both of us and threw your arms around us both together.
• Watching you meet your great grandparents, Mamaw and Papaw
• Dancing with you in the shower
• Watching you trick-or-treat with the big kids in your froggie costume on Halloween
• Hearing some of my favorite expressions throughout the year: "I love you, TOOOOO!" "Mmm, so good!" "Bless you, Mommy!" "I did it!" "Awesome!" "I see you!" "Banner do it!" "Dump Truck Party," "Banner's school!" a fake yawn followed by, "I tired, too!"and the way you say, "Greema!" "Matt and Julie," and "Britt-ney"
• Watching you hold your cousin, Nami, and how sweet and gentle you are with him
• Your "happy" face - which really looks more like you're terrified. :)
• Watching you dance during Torah service at school (Mommy & Me)
• The way you run over to the mesh wall of the bounce house at Open Gym to clap my hands on the outside and then run to find me on the next wall to do it again
• Being completely shocked and amazed when you could name most of the letters when Grandma and I were quizzing you with the Letter Factory letters. Sometimes, you would even tell us the correct letter while telling us you weren't going to tell us any more letters, trying to get us to stop: "No C!" "No W!" "No, no P!"
• The night I rocked you in the glider, just a couple weeks ago, when you sang "Twinkle, Twinkle" with me for the first time. We did three rounds of it, and you chimed in with most words; we sang for the first time together. Afterward, I told you, with a smile on my face and with tears in my eyes that you couldn't see, "Banner, that just made the list," and you smiled and giggled gently.
• Talking with Daddy throughout the year about how amazing you are, how much growth we have seen in you, marveling at your language skills, and being fascinated by your memory... I always love our chats about you after you've gone to sleep, both of us in such awe of you
• The day before your second birthday when you finally correctly answered "How old are you?" with a resounding response of "TWO!" in the backseat of my car after Daddy and I took you to the park
• Watching your face as everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to you on your second birthday and watching you smile before and after blowing out the candles all on your own! 

And Another Year Makes TWO! (24-Month Newsletter)

Dear Banner,
Today marks the day that you and I met each other. It is the anniversary of the first time I kissed you, first time I got to hold you, first time I got to look into those deep blue eyes of yours, first time you wrapped your tiny hand around my finger. It's our BIRTHday, sweet boy, and I can't believe it's already been 2 years! It's during these past few days that I recall all that was happening at that time: Mommy was in the hospital for a couple days before you were born, Daddy and I had our last date as a family of two, you were quite content inside my belly, and none of us had any idea how much our lives were going to change in such a short time. I think back to all the wonderful memories we have made together in these past two years, and I think of how fast time is passing, how smart and big and fun and interactive you have become, yet how much I still remember my bitty baby who used to hate when I would put him down, who needed to be bounced on a yoga ball all day, who lost all the hair on the top of his head, who had the most awful (yet funniest) cry when he'd get hungry fast, who would fall asleep on Mommy's chest, who had the most amazing smell and sweetest coos. Oh, how I miss that baby - but I am SO in love with you still now and your amazing personality. Daddy and I just love your angelic voice, your sweet smile, your contagious laugh, your silly sense of humor, your intense curiosity, your quick learning, your precise pronunciation, your gorgeous eyes, your deep dimples, your predictable interests, your ever-growing vocabulary, your long and detailed memory, and your cuddly hugs and tender kisses. We are forever in awe of you, Banner, with each passing day. You keep us entertained, intrigued, engaged, and on our toes!

This past year has flown by WAY faster than your first year. I blinked, and my first stay-at-home year with you has already passed. While I miss my work and my colleagues so much, I am so fortunate that I have had this time with you. This year of Story Time at the library, Mommy and Me at "Banner's school," playing at Open Gym, days at the park and shopping together, experimenting with new toys, games, friends, skills, and crafts, meeting Daddy for lunch, hanging with Grandma when I would substitute teach, and meeting friends for play dates. . . well, it has all just gone by so fast! This month, too, has gone by in a flash, and while not a whole lot has changed, I still want to document what happened for you as a 23-month-old.

SO, what have you been up to this month?

-You got attacked by ants a couple weeks ago. You were at the park with Grandma while Mommy was subbing. As I was heading to get you after work, Grandma called me and told me to come immediately to the park. You LOVE digging in the dirt, and Grandma thought you were simply digging in yet another dirt pile. But, unfortunately, this dirt pile was really an ant pile, and after a scratch at it, the ants got angry and took it out on your right hand and forearm. Grandma noticed right away, but those ants were fast! You had 23 ant bites on your fingers, hands, wrist, and forearm. Luckily, Grandma did some fast thinking and emptied your sippy cup of water on your arm to get those awful creatures off of you, and once I arrived to help check out the damage, we decided to go to the pharmacy right away to get some itch cream for you. Grandma had the great idea, too, to get you to go fishing for some plastic coins at the bottom of a bowl filled with ice water to calm and soothe the swelling on your arm. Mommy is allergic to ants, so you can imagine how worried I was that you might also have an allergy and a need for an ER visit. Luckily, you just got some little pus-filled blisters and weren't too bothered by the itching at all. Thank Goodness!

-Speaking of hands. . . you got hand, foot, mouth disease this month. Most likely, you caught it from Ella who got it a day or two ahead of you. You two share your sippy cups and snacks almost weekly, so it's no wonder you caught it. Fortunately, both of you recovered pretty quickly - although you passed it on to Brycen and probably Colby, too. You had a high fever for one day and refused to eat most everything I offered you - including donuts, your favorite - so I knew something was wrong. You also only got blisters on the soles of your feet - nothing in your mouth or on your hands.

 -I know this is minor, but I also realize that 5, 10, 15+ years from now, I'll want to remember some of these things: you request a back rub (usually from me) almost every night and at nap. "Back!" you demand with a paci in your mouth, and sometimes you ask every time I walk away from your crib. "Mommy, back!" Sometimes I have to tell you, "Banner, I already rubbed your back. It's time to go to sleep now." Then, usually, I suggest you talk to Thomas (your teddy bear) or watch the animals on your ceiling projector (only at nap). Lately, we've been hearing you talk to Thomas in your crib or say goodnight to the monkeys, frogs, and birds that are on that projector: " Night, night, monkeys! Night, night birds!" In fact, yesterday morning, you woke up laughing. Not sure what was so funny to you, but your giggles were hilarious to Daddy and me first thing in the morning. Along these same lines, your imaginative play has begun to soar - you are often baking a cake or making burgers or talking to Ernie about where Bert is. You pretend your paci is a choo-choo train going all around your crib rail. You call little things (like a little carrot or a smaller bag) the "baby" and the bigger pieces or items the "Daddy" or the "Mommy." Very creative, Little Man!

-We celebrated Landry's 2nd birthday, you missed Colby's 3rd birthday party and Aunt Kira's birthday dinner because of your high fever, you participated in two garage sales, we spent time with our best friends from Houston (and you got to meet Baby Corey for the first time), and we had another Mother's Day together. We also said goodbye to "Banner's school" for the summer. Mommy and Me classes ended, so you said goodbye to Ms. Betty and Ms. Beverley until school starts in August. They gave you a cute photo book of pictures of you while at Mommy & Me. I love this book!

-You are very much in to nursery rhymes and songs now. There's a nursery rhyme book that Bubbie an Zaide gave to you before you were even born, and you request for me to read it (and sing it) to you almost nightly. You're getting awesome at chiming in with the words you remember, too.

-You have not let up on the intense interest in all things dirt, construction, trash, and transportation. You still love to look for diggers, dump trucks, mowers, buses, trains, garbage trucks, and firetrucks when we are out and about. You can't get enough on YouTube, and you would choose to play outside in the dirt with your own diggers and dump trucks over any other activity.

-You repeat and retain EVERYTHING! For example, one night we were reading Kiss on the Keppe, and there's a page that says, "In walk Bubbe and Zaide with kisses galore." 15 minutes later, as I was rocking with you before bedtime, you kept saying, "Galore." It took me a minute to figure out why you were saying that... and then I taught you what it meant. Another time, we went to get your haircut, and the lady cutting your hair said something was "amazing." Not only did you continue to say that word (correctly) the rest of the afternoon, but you use the word now and remember you learned it from your haircut! If you hear someone say it, you say, "Haircut." Another example... one day I was driving to meet Daddy for lunch at Paradise. I was trying to get over into the right lane, and the driver behind me kept speeding up then slowing down then speeding up again so I couldn't get over. In my frustration, I said something like "Come on, Lady!" Then, I told you why I was saying that - that the lady wasn't being very nice. We've been to Paradise three times since that day (yes, we like it a lot!), and you always say, "Lady," as we turn into the parking lot. Then, you say "Nice?" asking me about her again. Oh, how we need to be careful when talking around you!!

-Some of our favorite expressions from this month: "cheepup" for ketchup, "Too, me!" when you want to go do something also (like leave for work with Daddy), "Banner do it!" "I coming," and lots of other first-person speech which just started this month ("I watching," "I laughing," "I shopping..."), and knowing that you are "TWO!" now. 

With the summer just beginning, no Mommy & Me, no Open Gym, an altered Story Time at the library, and no sub jobs in my near future, you and I are going to have to be creative with our time in the coming months! I'll be entering my third trimester with your little brother in a couple weeks, and the scorching heat won't care much about how swollen and uncomfortable I'm getting. I have a feeling you won't either! So, I've prepared a few plans for our summer. CAMP MOMMY begins TODAY!

I am so happy to be your mommy! You make me so proud on a daily basis, and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you as you embark on your third year of life. Big changes are coming, sweet boy. I hope the term "Terrible Twos" is a clear misnomer and that "Terrific Twos" are more accurate. I hope you know how loved you are, and I hope you know how special you are to me. I thank God every day for you and for your life, but I especially thank God for your birthday, for the day you and I officially became Mommy and Banner, for the day we met you and got to introduce and share you with the world.

Happy Birthday, Angel! I wish you a day, a year, a lifetime of nothing but the greatest gifts. After all, you are MY greatest gift!

I love you more than you could ever know.
Love,
Mommy

B & E

In Banner's first few months of life, he met some amazing new friends. To name a few, his first baby friends were: Marin, Landry, Emma, Shayna, Myka, Sami, Zeina, and Adam. But, one little girl has had play dates with Banner on an almost-weekly basis since about 2 or 3 months old. In the beginning, Ella and Banner's friendship mostly centered around taking walks to the park while napping in infant carriers so their moms could talk about how hard motherhood was. Soon, they would lay on play mats kicking their feet back and forth. Weeks later, they would roll over and look in each others' direction before rolling back the other way. Before long, they would reach for each others' toys, laugh at each other, sit up playing with the same toy, and trade turns in the Exersaucer or swing. Almost two years later, they are hugging each other, giving kisses goodbye, sharing snacks and sippy cups (and germs!), and calling each others' names. How fun it has been to watch them grow up together! As they turn 2 this week and embark on their third year of life, let's look back at their friendship:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, B & E! So glad you both have each other as friends!

Still Can't Believe It

After three years, I still can't believe that Sam survived his terrifying miracle. Not only that, but he walked away after 7 hours in the ER. He only had minor scrapes, bumps, swelling, a hematoma, a concussion, and some awful memories (and some lost memory). When I think back to this exact night 3 years ago, I am still haunted by what I was thinking, what could have happened, and how fragile life is.

I still remember picking up my red Rant phone, seeing an unusual amount of missed phone calls and texts, and hearing my brother's voice as I answered the incoming call while about to leave the end-of-year faculty party. I just knew something was terribly wrong, but I am so grateful that what I really thought was wrong wasn't. I was sure my husband was dead. I was sure I'd never speak to, hear from, embrace, kiss, make love to, laugh with him - my best friend, the love of my life. I was certain my brother was going to give me news that would change my life forever. Thank God I was wrong. I've never been more relieved and thrilled to be so incorrect. But, honestly, I still didn't know that what Brock was telling me was the whole truth. I didn't know what he knew, what information he could or would actually share with me. When he insisted on meeting my friend, Emily, and I on our way to the hospital, I was certain he had more information than he let on. After I hopped in the front seat of my mom's car - with her right behind me rubbing my shoulders, I was terrifyingly suspicious that they were hiding the truth from me. When I had spoken to the EMT who called me on my cell phone, he told me that Sam was in and out of consciousness but that he knew my cell phone number to call me. I held on to that as Brock drove over 100 mph to get to the same hospital that held awful memories for me.

It took an eternity to get news once we got there. They were still running tests. I couldn't see him yet. Family members started showing up. I'll never forget seeing his mother walk in through the ER doors, desperately needing her embrace. She was the only one who would die along with me if something had happened to him. It was a hard place to be, though, since the nurses and staff wanted information from me, his new bride - when his parents were right there. While I was proud of myself for knowing all this information (having memorized his social security number, his work number, any meds he was on, etc), I kept thinking this nightmare was about to start where none of that would ever be repeated again. I kept thinking about my life as a widow so soon after being married. I thought he may never practice law again, he may never speak again or look at me again, he may never remember who he is or who I am, he may never walk again. I had NO idea what to think.

Once I saw Sam, he immediately started crying. He was very beaten up - blood coming out of his ears, gashes in his head, dried blood on his hands and arms, even gravel in his teeth. He still had a neck brace on, which made his whole head turn red when he cried harder as he told me he loved me. I panicked when he would turn so red. I wanted him to calm down immediately. I stayed calm and as unemotional as I could while he looked at me with tears streaming down his face. I needed more than anything for him to calm down. I was still terrified that I could still lose him at any moment, overwhelmingly worried that he had a brain bleed or some internal injuries we still didn't know about that would cause significant damage. I didn't know we were "out of the woods" yet, so I just kept trying to relax him.

I also remember the ER room vividly and all the feelings I had while there. Seven hours in there, and it flew by in a blink because I was overjoyed with each passing moment that Sam was breathing, was alert, was making jokes, was holding my hand and looking at me. Every now and again, he'd start crying and telling me how much he loved me. We did a lot of just looking at each other that night. We did a lot of holding each other. He let me take care of him - cleaning him off, holding him up, wiping the blood, the dirt, the gravel, the tears. It was a very emotional night, week, month that year - and every time we talk about it, we still get emotional now.

We lost a lot that night. We lost his beloved Ford Explorer Sport. He lost some nice jeans and a belt that the ER had to cut off. He lost some memory of that night. We lost hope in ever finding the a$$hole who hit and ran. We lost a feeling of safety and security. But, we could have lost a whole heck of a lot more. Because, really, for all that we lost - we gained so much more. We gained at least three more years of time together. We learned not to take each other for granted. We learned that, when pushed to the limit, we are each others' best medicine and that we CAN do it, we can be each others' crutch, support, advocate, healer. We learned how fragile life is and to thank God every day for the time we have together.

I still can't believe it. That we were hiking Mt. Vesuvius two weeks later on our honeymoon, that we got pregnant 3 months later, that we met our baby boy a year after the accident, and that three years later, we are pregnant with yet another son. I know my life would be significantly different if Sam didn't make it that night, or if he had major medical issues as a result. I don't even like to think about it. I know his friends and family would miss him and mourn him. But, I'm beyond grateful that Sam's life . . . well, IS. He is blessed. Since this night three years ago, Sam has met his son, two nephews, two brothers-in-law, and several cousins. He has started a law practice, strengthened his family during times of loss and grief, celebrated weddings, enjoyed holidays, graduations, birthdays, and anniversaries, and helped create another baby. He's smiled and laughed, hurt and cried, learned and taught. He's felt great pain and great joy. He's alive and well. And, for every moment of the past 3 years, I am grateful. I am blessed.